Starring Saif Ali Khan, Kaalakaandi is a story of six characters from across Mumbai and it explores the city’s dark, neglected underbelly. The film is directed by Akshat Verma, who earlier wrote the 2011 film Delhi Belly.

2017 was a rough year for Saif Ali Khan. Though he got on-board projects with his heart and soul, the films did not work at the box office. Now, he is starting off 2018 with Delhi Belly fame Akshat Verma’s Kaalakaandi, which is scheduled to release on January 12.

But can we expect this film to get back Saif Ali Khan’s acting career on track? Well, we have our doubts. In conversation with indianexpress.com, film distributor Akshaye Rathi says films like Kaalakaandi cannot be expected to work for Khans. “The film has a target audience and hence, it will have a limited revenue.”

Since it is an Akshat Verma film, who gave youngsters an iconic film like Delhi Belly, people have an expectation that this film would strike the same chord. However, Akshaye has something else to say. “It would be too ambitious to compare the film with Delhi Belly. One of the reasons to why is the factor called Aamir Khan. We know he is a mastermind when it comes to marketing and content. So, there itself the equation changes. Also, the film was released at the right time.”

Talking about the trade expectations of Kaalakaandi, Akshaye revealed it would do a business of around Rs 1.5 crore on day one while by the weekend, the film will manage to mint anywhere around Rs 3 crore to Rs 5 crore. The earnings could be low also because the film is being screened at 500-600 theaters, mostly multiplexes.

The film also competes with Vikram Bhatt’s 1921 and Anurag Kashyap’s Mukkabaaz.